It’s a celebration with a capital "C" in Mason City for Willson

The 100th anniversary of the birth of composer Meredith Willson will be celebrated this weekend in Mason City, his hometown. “Music Man Square” spokesman Jerry Krieger says events will kick off tomorrow night.He says there’ll be an unveiling of the Meredith Willson statue at Music Man Square, and a birthday party just after six o’clock. Krieger says a number of events will take place through the rest of the month, leading up to the North Iowa Band Festival May 30th through June 2nd.Krieger says the Willson Museum at Music Man Square will open June 1st after the band festival parade.Shirley Jones played “Marian the Librarian” in the film version of Willson’s “The Music Man”. Jones and husband Marty Ingalls will perform this Sunday night at Music Man Square, and Krieger says they enjoy having Jones come back to “River City.” He says Jones grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and still likes the small town atmosphere and the people of Mason City.For more information about the Willson birthday celebration, call Music Man Square at 424-2896, or toll-free at 866-228-6262. You may also visit their website at www.themusicmansquare.org.